How Does The Magician End? Spoilers Explained

Question

I just finished that last chapter of 'The Magician' by Lev Grossman and I'm still processing the bittersweet, open-ended finale. Does anyone else think his final choices felt earned?

Itz Shan Shan · Answer

The ending of The Magician shows that the protagonist was tricked by an opposing organization from the very beginning. He defeats the main enemy but destroys his magical power in order to prevent it from being misused. It is a end that focuses on the sacrifice of the protagonist rather than his growth into a huge power holder. This focus on the end of a power fantasy and the personal struggle of the protagonist in order to reach that end is also a focus in The Miracle Doctor Won’t Be A Kept Man. A genius physician tries to heal his patients while at the same time he tries to navigate the court politics. In the end he refuses the favor of the imperial family and he is able to maintain his autonomy as a doctor. The ending focuses on the silent and laudable way in which the protagonist makes his choices.

Kyle · Answer

The end of The Magician sees Pug accepting his destiny in a rather unexpected manner. The climax to the book is not just another fight of magic against magic. It is the choices of Macros, the Great Imaginative, that are revealed to Pug. It is revealed that all along the man had been manipulating events to unite the people of Midkemia against a common enemy: the ruthless Tsurani from another world. It would have been so easy for Pug to have responded to this revelation in a venegful manner but in the end he comes to terms with the Great Man's actions. It is a very mature thing for Pug to have done, and I must admit that it made for some very powerful reading. The end of the book also sees Pug off on his new journey as well as that of his friend Tomas, who, now bonded with the ancient armor of the Valheru, will no doubt bring about his own brand of sorrow in future books.

Of course, no book can end with all of the storylines perfectly tied up. There are still Tsurani to fight, and it will not be easy. But what I loved about the ‘Riftwar Saga’ was how long in advance Feist would plant a seed for a later development. The mysterious rift that appears early in the series is a prime example. The ending of The Magician left me both happy and curious for more. And finally, a note on the truly emotional point that Feist drove home with Carline and Pug’s unfulfilled love for each other. So very fantasy, and yet, so very real.

Ryder · Answer

I just finished the book ‘The Magician’ by Raymond E. Feist. The end of this book is as exciting as the rest of the book. Pug finally meets Macros the Black in an emotional and long awaited fight. In the end it is found that Macros was not evil. He was just trying to prepare Midkemia for an even greater war against the Tsurani. Pug, who has become a full magician, realizes that there is more to the world than just the small part he lives in. He now becomes a guardian for the rest of Midkemia. The book ends on a positive note, but with a tinge of sadness and the feeling that there is much more to come. As always Feist leaves enough questions open for you to be very curious to read on and start the next book ‘The Magician’s Quest’.

It is the way in which Pug grows as a character in this novel that is most impressive. The humble kitchen boy learns so much more than magic to save the world. I am so use to ending up growling in frustration at the end of novels. But not here. This is a very real ending, full of mess and woe. There are also many wonderful moments. And the fight between Pug and Macros at the end gave me chills. Such wonderful descriptive writing of the magic in this novel. It truly makes the world of Pug feel so very alive and vivid. Read ‘The Magician’s Quest’ first to get the most out of this ending. It’s just the beginning of something so much wilder!

Ursula · Answer

This ending is so much setup for the next book of the series, ‘The Silverthorn’. Pug, once a slave, becomes a magician and finds out who the real enemy is, Macros. Macros dies in this book or does he? He causes so much trouble for Pug in this story and in the end Pug finally realizes that he has been looking at things the wrong way and that there is more to life than just fighting the other side. The end is set up so well for the invasion of the Tsurani and I loved this book. The ending is also very nice with Pug and his mentor Kulgan. It’s so simple but so nice. Kulgan is just so proud of Pug. It really shows the good relationship between the two.

Bj passions · Answer

spoilers for the entire series finale below Quenton Coldwater gets killed off creating the new world for magic to return to in the final act of the series, but then in a way that’s not totally cheesy, he gets resurrected as he was the creator of this new world of Fillory. After returning for a brief stint back to Fillory (even in that time though it’s shown that his time in that world is done and the ruling council thanks him for his help but makes it clear he’s no longer needed – obvious metaphor for how we all have to grow up and move on from our childhood fantasies of magic and return to the world of reality for Quenton this means back to Earth).

It is years after that, Quentin is now a Professor at Brakebills College for Magical Pizza. In a very down-to-earth scene, Quentin is shown to be living a peaceful life. There is even a very poignant and very forgiving scene between Quentin and Alice. But there is no rekindling of the romance between the two. The final paragraph is so simple yet so poignant. After all of the years of searching for magic to fill a void in his soul, Quentin has finally reached a point in his life where he has become whole enough to appreciate magic in all its simplest forms.

Marissa Delfin · Answer

The ending of this epic fantasy is remarkably grounded in human reality. While magic is saved, that’s really just background to the main story of Quentin coming to terms with who he is. He comes to realize that his Fillory obsession was a form of avoiding life, and he leaves to go have a life. Teaching is an active, engaged role, not the passive reception of knowledge that it is so often made out to be. Thus, Quentin’s final magic trick is his final hobby, actively creative and engaged.

The series ends with the insight that growing up is about to leave behind the stories you tell yourself about your life and to find happiness in the less dramatic story of your real life. The conversation with Alice in the last episode is a masterpiece of mature writing. After having shared so many epic adventures, Quentin and Alice don’t fall into each other’s arms. Instead they talk and they acknowledge the complexity of their shared past. And they choose to part in a clean and kind way. It’s sad, but healthy.

Glynis Cope · Answer

The ending of The Magicians is simply of genius scale. When you’ve built up universe saving magic in this way, you could have a grand finale where all that magic creates a new universe. But that would be to miss the point, and after all that building, the point is actually quite small. The real magic of the finale is what it does to Quentin. It gives him the things he wanted all along, but in a way that allows him to appreciate the small magic. The final spell is a metaphor for the series as a whole: it’s all about the small perfect moments with the characters, not about the big plot. I wouldn’t have ended the book with the creation of a new universe. I would have ended it with this man in a parking lot, smiling. That’s where the real story was.

Jonas Jermaine · Answer

It’s also very pretty in how it contrasts with Quentin’s storyline and his finding of peace in the simple humanity of a kind face and connection. Julia’s trauma was so much deeper and more lasting than his, that a normal human life was never going to be enough to heal her. Instead her ascension to dryad is a kind of healing-through-transcendence. She becomes part of the natural magic that had been so horribly wreaked upon her in the first place, and in doing so finds harmony with it. Both of the main characters of the story find peace in the end, but not in similar ways. Healing isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some people can find peace in engaging with the world around them, and others by becoming something more than human altogether.

Valeria Boyd · Answer

This resonates with me because this is a story about work and destiny. For most of the series Quentin has been searching for a written-in-the-stars-destiny that he believes has his name on it. He wants to be a hero of some sort of story. He finally gives up on that and instead becomes a teacher, one of the few true jobs in the world that is purely about work. His final act of magic is also a display of his mastery of work at a skill: he spends a lot of time refining it until it’s perfect, instead of blasting it all into existence in a moment of genetic-nonsense-destiny.

He finds meaning in the actual work rather than in the moniker or glory. It’s a very adult realization, one that reveals the fantasy of specialness is more appealing than actually achieving it, but ultimately is not as sustainable. The parking lot is a fabulous setting for this, because it is a location of transition rather than destination. So he’s not arriving anywhere in this scenario. Instead he’s just in the midst of an ordinary day and he’s able to find his way to create something beautiful in the work of living.

Donna Luiso · Answer

The ending of The Magicians is all about Quentin’s relationship with Fillory, and the fact that Fillory is both real and escapism. For most of the series, Quentin finds that trying to escape to a fantasy world only makes real life worse. But in the end, Quentin has finally learned to escape from his escapism. When he is given the chance to return to Fillory as a king, he declines, choosing the real world over the fantasy one.

The last act of magic Quentin performs in the world serves as evidence to the enormous growth he has experienced. Performing a very difficult, technical magic spell for no reason other than it being satisfying to perform well, the workmanlike magic also possesses an artistic quality. No longer does he search for magic in order to attain special status. Instead, the mature Quentin uses magic in the same manner that one would practice a craft or a discipline. That this esteemed writer of fantasy ends the story of a once-angsty-teenager with such an adult action is profound. And in contrast, Julia finds healing through transcendence of the magical world and return to her own in order to come to terms with her own extremely traumatic experiences.

How Does The Magician End? Spoilers Explained

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